RECAP Aakriti and Kabir have now started getting along. They together make a small house in the garden for a kitten they have saved from the street dogs. At school, kids perform in front of the little audience comprising principal ma’am and a few other teachers. They perform very well. Rupali feels delighted and treats them. CHAPTER 14 There was a lot of hustle and bustle in the house. Everyone was excited about the inter-school drama competition. Kabir was to reach there directly with his team and teacher. At home, his family was getting ready for the event. “Di! They seem to have organised this competition at quite a large scale,” said Sujata helping Shilpa drape her sari. “Oh yes! Booking auditorium and inviting the participants’ parents… it must be a big event,” Shilpa replied. “Arre! Someone would be sponsoring the show. These school people are so miserly; they won’t spend even a single penny unless they get two in return,” Vishal spoke like a businessman. Suddenly, Kriti started crying. “Oho! Mt little hungry angel,” chuckled Sujata. “Feed her or she’ll bother you there. I’ll see if my princess got ready or not,” saying this Shilpa made her way to Aakriti’s room, while Sujata began to feed Kriti. A lot of enthusiasm was illuminating their faces. At appropriate time, they reached the venue. There was still some time to start the competition. Finally, the competition began. The first participant was Green Valley Modern School. Their play was centred on the theme of superstition. The second entry was that of St James Convent School, who did a comedy. The audience was thoroughly enjoying the evening. “Di!” Sujata nudged her sister. “What?” Shilpa sounded a little frustrated. “They all are performing so well. I wonder how our kids will perform,” she said, “Kabir is a mediocre actor. I know his capacity.” “Sujata!” she said, “Don’t underestimate kids. They all are special in their own way.” “Of course,” Vishal who had heard their conversation joined in, “Didn’t you see how we used to discourage Aakriti? But now I’m convinced of her calibre. She’ll be a great artist some day.” Soon they had to maintain silence as the next performance began. It was a wonderful event. It was evident all the schools had worked really hard in polishing their participants, and it was showing in their acts. Sujata’s heart was still pounding. She was worried about Kabir’s performance. Finally, the turn of Ryan International School came. The play began. It started really well. It opened with Gods reflecting on the darkness all around and deciding to create the Universe, followed by the Creation and emergence of life on Earth. As soon as, Kabir stepped on the stage, Sujata’s heart skipped a beat. “Di!” she held Shilpa’s hand tightly. “Relax, little sis! He’ll outshine everyone,” Shilpa comforted her. The play was proceeding smoothly. Coming together of five elements, birth of life, discovery of fire, wheel, tools, followed by slow and steady progress, growth in science and technology, the consequential environmental degradation, and the revival of life… it threw light on various colourful aspects ever since life came into existence. Audience were awe-stricken at the intellect of the playwright and the fine direction of the director, for both of which, only one person was responsible — Rupali ma’am. Sujata could not believe that her little mamma’s boy was such a brilliant actor. She had tears in her eyes. When the play ended, the audience were so awed that they forgot to applaud. Even after the actors had departed, they just kept on looking at the deserted stage with unblinking eyes. The compere had to break their reverie by her short concluding speech. They say that the biggest applause is when there is no applause. So far, Rupali ma’am had just heard about it; this was the first time she had seen it. Her eyes were moist and her head high with pride. She was so proud of her students. “First prize, second prize, nothing matters to me. They are much above these immaterial ranks,” she said inwardly. Now, the result time! The judges had seen and analysed all the performances. Just the result was to be declared. There was pin-drop silence in the hall. It did not take them too long to announce the results. And, Ryan International School was declared the clear winner. At this, the audience reverberated the whole auditorium with the sounds of claps. The kids came running and jumping to the stage. Each one of them was awarded a certificate and a small memento. Rupali ma’am was awarded a shield. The event was close to its consummation, when suddenly the Chief Guest expressed his desire to come on the stage. He wanted to say something. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “First of all, I would like to thank the organisers for giving me this privilege to be part of this show. I enjoyed watching all the performances. Each one of them was wonderful. And Ryan International School has justly been declared the winner. However, the judges and me thought that one actors among them all deserves a special mention. We want to recognise his efforts and honour him with the Best Actor Award. So ladies and gentlemen, without taking much time, let me announce his name. The little star is… Kabir Chauhan from Ryan International School.” The Chief Guest bent down to stroke his hair and kiss his cheeks. Sujata had a lump in her throat. All the friends of Kabir surrounded him, hooting and cheering for him. Kabir was in seventh heaven. Once he was alone, but now the whole world was with him. He was a favourite of everyone. He came to the forefront and thanked everyone with a slight bow, as Rupali ma’am had taught them. Suddenly, he saw a shadowy creature at the far end of the auditorium. He broadened his eyes to see clearly who it was. It was Mark. He was smiling and waving at him. Kabir waved back at him. Soon, the shadow started diminishing and slowly became invisible. **** The phone was ringing constantly, with its sounding getting more and more shrill with each ring. A middle-aged ma, wiping his face with a towel, rushed to the phone and picked it up. “Hello! Mr Kabir Chauhan,” said the voice from the other end, “This is Thomas here. I just called to congratulate you for your play that was staged last week. You were brilliant as always.” “Oh thanks for your appreciation, Mr Thomas,” smiled Kabir, “You audience are the best critics we actors can have.” “One more thing,” said Thomas, “Your book Stage… My Life is going for fourth reprint. You’ve made us really rich.” Kabir laughed and said, “It’s all because of your efforts, Mr Publisher.” “Now, you are embarrassing me, sir. By the way, a question always haunts me.” “What is it?” “You’ve dedicated this book to Mark. Who’s he?” “That’s a very personal question, publisher sahib. I’m sorry I can’t answer it,” chuckled Kabir. “No issues. Take care, bye!” Thomas disconnected the line. Kabir too put down the phone and moved towards the window. His eyes were searching for someone beyond the horizon. “Thank you, Mark!” he murmured.                                   ** The End **